Bottle-opener.



E. K. HILL.

BOTTLE OPENER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 27, 1909. RENEWED 001223, 1911.

Patented Apr. 23, 1912.

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ELWIN K. HILL, 0F CLEVELAND, @HIO.

BOTTLE-OPENER.

nominee.

Application filed April 27, 1909, Serial No. 492,478.

To all whom it may concern:

Be' it known that ll, ELWIN K. HILL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in BottleOpeners,' of which the following is a specification.

The present invention is an improvement in bottle openers and it is designed primarily for use in removing and subsequently replacing the caps or closures of paperboard ordinarily employed in connection Closures of the general type above specified are fitted at their edges in circumferential seats formed in the mouths of the bottles, and are removed therefrom by inserting the pointed end of a knife or other imple-. ment beneath the edges so as to raise the latter to an extent sufficient to permit them to be taken hold of. This method, however, is obviously unsanitary, inasmuch as the fingers of the operator must of necessity come int-o contact with the under surface of the closure and with the inner or pouring surface of the bottle-mouth, if not into contact with the contents of the bottle, the same be ing more or less true in replacing the clo- It is the object of this invention, therefore, to overcome such defect by the production of an extremely simple device arranged for engagement with the closure in such a manner that during the removal and replacing of the closure, the objectionable contact above referred to is completely avoided.

Briefly described, the device comprises a handle member provided with a toothed operating plate and with a spring-controlled presser plate which is likewise toothed and is loosely mounted upon the stem of the handle member, in contradistinction to the operating plate, which latter is rigidly secured thereto. The teeth formed upon the presser plate are arranged to take into the closure, to hold the same' against rotation when the handle is manipulated, while the operating plate has its teeth arranged to penetrate and engage the closure during such time, so as to permit the latter to be readily withdrawn bodily from the bottle mouth at the conclusion of the operation.

The preferred embodiment of the inven- Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedApr. 23, 1912.

Renewed October 23, 1911. Serial No. 656,216.

tion is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved opener. Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof, partly in section. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan View. Fig. 4 is a view illustrating the application of the invention, or-

tions of the opener itself and of the bottlebeing shown in section. Fig. 5 is a perspective View showing the closure engaged with the opener and removed from the bottle.

Reference being had to said drawings, and to the numerals marked thereon, l designates in a general manner, a milk bottle of the conventional type, 2 the mouth portion thereof, and 3 the usual circumferential seat formed on the innersurface or Wall of the mouth adjacent the upper edge thereof and designed to receive therein the edgeportion of the circular cap or closure 4 which latter is ordinarily constructed of paper board, as is generally understood. In this connection, it may bestated that the term paper board is used in its broadest sense, and is intended to include caps or closures constructed of paper, pasteboard, and compressed paper andwood pulp.

The opener which is employed for the purpose of withdrawing and replacing the closure, consists, as shown, of a handle member 5, a circular main or operating plate 6, and a similarly-shaped presser plate 7 both plates being constructed of sheet metal. The member 5 comprises, in turn, an eye portion 8 and a stem 9, the latter extending loosely through an axial opening 10 formed in the presser plate and having its lower or free end rigidly secured in any suitable manner to the center of the operating plate, the diameter of the last-mentioned plate being somewhat less than that of the presser plate superposed thereupon.

The operating plate is slotted in such a manner as to form a series of spirally-arranged peripheral teeth 11, each of which preferably has its inner end slightly cut away, as indicated by the numeral 12 to provide lifting shoulders. These teeth, three of which are shown in the present instance, are bent downward at a comparatively slight angle. (See Figs. 2 and 4.)

The pressure plate, as above stated, is

superposed upon the operating plate, and is provided with means arranged for engagement with the closure, to hold the latter against rotation during the manipulation of the handle, as described hereinafter. These means preferably comprise a depending- 1mripheral flange 13 formed continuously upon said plate and provided, in turn, with a series of depending teeth or spurs 14 adapted to take into the closure. The plate in question has normally exerted thereupon a yielding downward pressure, owing preferably to the provision of an expansible coil-spring 15, which embraces the stem portion 9 of the handle and is interposed between said plate and a collar or washer 16 likewise fitted upon the stem. The diameter of the presser plate is approximately equal to or very slightly less than that of the closure.

In ,6perating the device to remove, the closure, it is disposed directly over the closure and the plate 7 then pressed firmly 'thereag'ainst with the fingers of one hand,

so as tooause the teeth or spurs 14 to engage the"'closure. The handle is then rotated by the other hand in the direction indicated'by the arrow in Fig. 4. During this rotary movement, the spiral teeth 11 with which the operating plate is provided will penetrate the closure and will project through the incisions thus formed, and extend beneath the under face of the closure, the latter being held against rotation during such time by reason of the engagement of the teeth or spurs 14 therewith, as will be apparent. The rotation of the handle is preferably continued until the reduced portions of the teeth reach the incisions, the shoulders resulting from this reduction serving in a sense, to lock the closure in such engagement. The closure may then be removed bodily from its seat by merely exerting a slight upward pressure upon the handle. In replacing the closure, it is merely necessary to properly seat the closure and then to rotate the operating plate in the opposite direction from that above described, whereupon the locking teeth will be withdrawn from the incisions.

Both operations may be readily and quickly accomplished, and in both instances the exposure of the inner surface of the bottle mouth, as well as the under surface of the closure, to contact with the fingers of the operator is completely avoided.

What is claimed is:

1. In an implement for opening disk closures the combination of a member arranged for engagement with the closure, to hold the same against rotation, and an additional member for slitting the closure.

2. In an implement for opening disk closures the combination of a member arranged for engagement with the upper surface of the closure, to hold the same against rotation, and an additional ,meniber provided with means arranged to slit the closure and to engage the under surface therebf.

3. In an implement for opening disk closures the combination of a member arranged for engagement with one surface of the closure, to hold the same against displacement, an additional member provided with means arranged for engagement with the other surface of the closure, and means whereby the second-named member may be rotated, to effect such engagement.

4. An implement for opening disk closures comprising a rotatable member provided with means arranged to incise the closure and engage the under surface thereof, a handle towhich said member is secured, and, a member loosely mounted upon the handle for engagement with the upper surface of the closure, to hold said closure against rotation during the rotation of the first-named member.

5. An implement for opening disk closures having a sheet metal member slit and bent toprovide a series of downwardly-inclined teeth, each tooth having a portion thereof cut away to form a shoulder.

6. An implement for opening disk closures, comprising a handle and fast and' loose toothed plates mounted thereon for engagement with the closure.

7. In an implement for opening disk closures, the combination of a handle, a cutter plate secured thereto, and a presser plate loosely mounted upon the handle above the cutter plate and provided with a depending peripheral flange formed with teeth.

8. In an implement for opening disk closures, the combination of a handle, a cutter plate secured thereto, and a spring-controlled presser plate loosely mounted upon the handle above the cutter plate and provided with a depending peripheral flange formed with teeth.

9. In an implement for opening disk clo sures, the combination of a handle, a metal disk secured thereto and slit and bent to provide a series of incising teeth, and a toothed presser plate loosely mounted upon the handle above said disk.

10. In an implement for openin disk closures, the combination of a hand e, a metal disk secured thereto and slit and bent to provide a series of spiral incising teeth, and a toothed presser plate loosely mounted upon the handle above said disk.

11. In an implement for opening disk closures, the combination of a handle, a metal disk secured thereto and slit and bent to provide a series of incising teeth and a' spring controlled toothed presser plate loosely mountedupon the handle above said disk.

12. In an implement for opening disk In testimony whereof I have hereunto set closures, the combination of a handle, a my hand in presence of two subscribing 10 metal disk secured thereto and slit and bent Witnesses. v to provide a series of incising teeth and an additional disk loosely mounted upon the ELWIN handle above the first-mentioned d1sk and Witnesses:

provided with a peripheral series of depend- Ross E. SIBER, ing teeth; KLINE F. LEET. 

